DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 186 – From Bolt Owner
Dear Suzanne,
My car is a 2021 Chevrolet Bolt that I leased from the Chevrolet dealership early last year. It was meant to be a very short lease since I got it because a friend needed my main car for something else. I decided to go for this vehicle because it wasn’t too expensive and I had heard so many nice things about it.
After using it for a while, it seemed like the car lived up to the hype. I decided to extend my lease, because why not? Unfortunately, it feels like the vehicle was waiting for me to do this before revealing its true colors.
The Main Issue
A couple weeks after I extended the lease, I had my first issue with the car. This had to do with the Lithium-ion battery. Randomly my car would go off for no reason. It didn’t matter where I was or what I was doing. It could be that I was driving on the freeway, waiting at a traffic light or even stuck in traffic.
I complained about this several times to the dealership, and at first they denied anything being wrong with the car. After much persistence on my part, they finally did a thorough inspection and traced it to the car battery. The funny thing about this story is that the automakers were already aware of Bolt models having battery issues. I wondered why the dealership was so reluctant to do anything about it at first.
After they inspected it and found the source of the issue, I thought they would then start the repairs. I mean, there’s an adage that says “Knowing the problem means you’re one step closer to finding a solution”. I guess I was too hopeful, because even after they inspected it, they did absolutely nothing to fix the battery.
Regular Battery Jumpstarts
Now, due to the dealer’s lackadaisical approach to my car problem, I was stuck with it. It got to the point where I had to rely on the kindness of strangers to help me jumpstart the battery each time this happened. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t have a good samaritan stop each time the battery died.
Before it got really bad, there was a time when I decided to go on a mini vacation with some friends. We already had plans on how it would go. We would use my car to transport our belongings because it had enough cargo space and if there was still space, some friends could ride with me. Everyone else would ride in our other friend’s car.
After packing our stuff into my vehicle, we discovered there was only space for one more person. As such, only one friend road with me; the others went in the other car.
Our destination was quite a distance from where we all lived so we calculated how much time it would take us to get there and planned accordingly. We opted to go in the evening right after work. It was a Friday and according to our calculations, we would be right on time.
The reason we needed to get there on time was that the receptionist at the motel we had booked had a particular closing period for Fridays. As a result, we wanted to set off as early as possible to meet up with the receptionist and collect the room keys from them.
The Trip
As we set off on the trip, I was praying that I wouldn’t have any issues with the battery again. For a minute I thought my prayers had been answered… until they weren’t.
About 30 minutes into the trip, I began to see certain signs that the car battery was misbehaving. When I noticed this, I immediately called friends in the other car so that in case of anything, they would be around when it happened. Not long after, I was proven right, and the battery died. I tried restarting the car over and over again but no response. We couldn’t call a roadside mechanic or anything because we were already in the middle of nowhere.
Fortunately, our friend had some jumper cables in their car, and we were able to jumpstart the battery. The battery came alive and the car was running again. So we resumed the trip.
About twenty minutes later, the battery died again and we had to reenact the jumpstarting process. This happened a couple of times before we got to our destination.
By the time we got to the motel, it was past the window given by the receptionist. So we had to spend the night in the motel parking lot inside our cars. All of this because my car battery was faulty.
The following morning the receptionist came and we were able to settle in and carry on with the activities for the day.
In retrospect, things went better than they might have considering it could have resulted in several other serious complications. But if I’m being honest, that’s not an excuse for anyone to be stuck with a vehicle that’s having battery issues. This is why immediately after I got back from the trip I went straight to the dealership. I can’t keep dealing with all of this.
Other Issues
The other problems I had with the car were not as serious. It generally had to do with the infotainment system malfunctioning. If it wasn’t the Bluetooth not connecting well, it was the radio volume not working, or the whole system totally glitching. It was just a series of relatively minor problems.
It’s a lease I know, but these issues don’t care if I’m owning or leasing, I still have to deal with them. Now I just want to get this off my hands as soon as possible.
Bolt Owner
Lemon Law Vs Your 2021 Chevrolet Bolt
Dear Bolt Owner,
If we are being honest, a vehicle with a battery as defective as yours has no business being on the road. It should be locked down in some scrap yard if it can’t be fixed, and I feel like the dealership should know this. The only reason why they may refuse to replace the battery is because the manufacturer hasn’t given them the go-ahead. Either that or they themselves are too nonchalant about doing their jobs.
The Effectiveness Of The Lemon Law
Regardless of how lackadaisical they may be, no automaker is above the lemon law. With the lemon law, you have an escape from your car troubles.
Now, let me explain how lemon law cases work. Lemon law requires at least 2 visits to the dealership for the same issue. Otherwise, you would need 3 to 4 repair orders for different issues within the warranty period. Looking at your case, you qualified long ago.
The Three Available Lemon Law Options
With the lemon law, there are usually three outcomes, although the third is not as popular as the other two. The first option is called the cash and keep. Here, the manufacturing company provides you with cash compensation for all the issues you’ve experienced while letting you keep the vehicle.
In the cash and keep offer, the only thing you have to do is sign a release form. When you sign this form, you state that you won’t file another lemon lawsuit against the manufacturer for that same vehicle. Also, accepting this offer doesn’t void the warranty nor does it make the car lose its resale value. Instead, you can sell it to another person without tagging it as a lemon.
The second option is the repurchase offer. This is where the manufacturer buys the vehicle back from you. Once you return it, you get paid. Basically, you get reimbursed for any down payment or monthly payments you have made including taxes and interest. The manufacturer also pays back the remaining balance on the car to the dealer. If you have loans, Uber fees, rental fees, and towing fees, you get a refund for those as well.
The only way the manufacturer can deduct from the settlement is called the mileage offset. This means your claim starts at the number of miles the car was at during your first visit to the dealer. In other words, they charge you for the miles you used the car during which there were no problems. You can get a waiver for this in half or in full with a good lawyer.
The third and last option is the replacement offer, which is not as advisable. Here, the automakers replace your car with another of the same model with the same mileage and price range. Unfortunately, you may once again get stuck with another defective vehicle and now options for recourse.
Furthermore, in California, lemon law cases are a win-win situation. This is because you do not need to pay any legal or attorney bills. These bills are paid for by the automakers. As such, all the money won as your original settlement goes over to you.
I hope you’re able to get out of your sour situation soon. Best of luck in future travels!
Suzanne
Featured Image: 2021 Chevrolet Bolt ©Robert T Bell (CC Attribution 2.0 Generic license)
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Free Legal Advice About Your 2021 Chevrolet Bolt Lemon Law Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about CA Lemon Lawyer or how to file a claim in California, please write to help@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a California Lemon Law Attorney to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
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